The Russian leader has abandoned the pretense that life goes on as usual despite the Putin Russia Ukraine War, as evidenced by the Kremlin’s quick acknowledgment of Ukraine’s mass casualties last weekend.
President Vladimir V. Putin is seen chatting with soldiers and telling them, “We can’t give up anything,” in footage released by the Kremlin on New Year’s Eve. We must only fight and persevere.”
“Of course, there is still much that needs to be done,” he continues.
Moscow’s Invasion of Ukraine Reaches One-Year Anniversary
As winter approaches and the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine approaches next month, Mr. Putin has abandoned previous efforts to shield the public from the agony of Putin Russia Ukraine War. Instead, he is attempting to prepare the Russians and his military for a long fight ahead.
“He’s become a lot less relaxed, a lot less optimistic,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian analyst for the political consulting firm R.Politik. “You can see a sense of anxiety, a desire to mobilise all available forces to achieve his objectives.”
Putin, who is not used to losing, is becoming increasingly isolated as the Putin Russia Ukraine War deteriorates.
Isolated Putin Faces Challenges In Expanding Cooperation With Lukashenko
When Vladimir Putin visited Minsk last week to discuss expanding cooperation, his host, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, cracked a sarcastic joke that seemed all too true. “We’re co-aggressors, the most dangerous and toxic people on the planet. We only have one disagreement: who is bigger? “That’s all,” said Lukashenko.
Putin appears more isolated than ever as he approaches New Year’s Eve, the 23rd anniversary of his appointment as acting Russian president in 1999.
More than 300 days of a brutal Putin Russia Ukraine War have blown up decades of Russia’s carefully cultivated economic relations with the West, making the country a pariah, while Kremlin efforts to remove those ties with closer cooperation with India and China appear to be delayed as the Putin Russia Ukraine War continues.
Putin’s Trust Dwindles: A New Schism Emerges Within Russian Elite
Putin, who began his career as a KGB agent in the Soviet Union, has always kept his own counsel, relying on a close inner circle of old friends and confidants while never fully trusting or confiding in anyone. According to interviews with Russian business leaders, officials, and analysts, a new schism is forming between Putin and much of the country’s elite.
Ukraine live briefing: Moscow blames the Donetsk attack on Russian soldiers’ cellphone use; Ukraine claims Russia is running low on missiles.
Continuing a strike on the occupied city of Makiivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region that murdered dozens of Russian service members, Moscow has begun to assign blame. The Russian Defense Ministry blamed the attack on illegal cellphone use among its soldiers, which some observers see as an attempt to shift blame away from top commanders.
Ukraine has not confirmed its involvement in the attack but claims that at least 400 Russian soldiers were killed. The figures could not be independently verified. The White House defended the strike on Wednesday, saying Kyiv is well within its rights to defend itself against Russia’s invasion.
Russia is running low on missiles, particularly its most advanced models, as evidenced by reduced-scale barrages and discovered fragments indicating that Moscow is firing missiles just off the assembly line, said Gen. Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy intelligence chief, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine on Wednesday. He stated that Russia would use new tactics to compensate for the shortage, including the increased use of drones.
Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Chief Predicts Strikes “Deeper And Deeper” Into Russia.
Further strikes deep inside Russian territory are likely, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, who spoke to the US television channel ABC.
He went on to say that the attacks would go “deeper and deeper” inside Russia without saying whether Ukraine would carry them out.
Budanov stated that he would not be able to comment on his country’s involvement in the attacks until the war was over.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the 26 December attack on Russia’s Engels airbase, located more than 800 miles from the Ukrainian border, but Budanov admitted he was “pleased to see it.”
Putin Russia Ukraine War news – live: Putin Wants a Ceasefire As a Pretext To Push Us Back, According To Zelensky.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has accused Russia of attempting to use the Christmas truce to halt his forces’ advance in the eastern Donbas region and bring in more men and equipment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops in Ukraine to observe a 36-hour ceasefire to allow people to attend Orthodox Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.
The Kremlin said Mr. Putin ordered a ceasefire at midday on Friday in response to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, calling for a temporary truce.
But Mr. Zelensky told Moscow the Putin Russia Ukraine War would “end either when your soldiers leave or we throw them out.”
Ukrainian officials slammed Mr. Putin’s move as hypocritical and rejected his demand that Kyiv reciprocates.
Mr. Putin was clearly “trying to find some oxygen” by floating the potential truce, US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House.